IONITY with record financing to expand critical infrastructure for Europe’s electric future

The financing includes EUR450m in committed green loan facilities and a so-called accordion facility, i.e., the option to increase the credit line by up to EUR150m at a later date to support future growth. This marks the largest loan transaction ever made in the European EV charging industry and underscores the market’s trust in IONITY’s long-term vision.

The consortium of financing banks includes: ABN AMRO Bank N.V., BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ING Bank N.V., KfW IPEX-Bank GMBH, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, German branch of MUFG Bank (Europe) N.V., Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale and Rabobank, with BNP Paribas acting as the financial advisor. IONITY’s shareholders BMW Group, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche representing all Volkswagen Group brands and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, also played a significant role in supporting IONITY in the process.

IONITY will invest the new capital in the continued expansion and upgrade of its ultra-fast charging network, and thus in the future security of the European charging infrastructure. The focus is on highways and urban hubs to address the growing demand for convenient and reliable high-power charging across Europe.

Currently operating over 5,000 charging points, IONITY aims to more than double the number of charging points to approximately 13,000 and grow its network to more than 1,300 charging sites by the end of 2030. Today, IONITY chargers can provide a minimum of 400 kW, enabling up to 300 kilometres of range in just 10 to 15 minutes. As the only European network supporting 800V vehicle architectures at every charging point, IONITY is built to meet the demands of today’s electric vehicles and the performance standards of next-generation models.

The A&O Shearman core team was led by counsel Dr Jan-Hendrik Bode and comprised furthermore partners Thomas Neubaum (both Frankfurt) and Edward Moser (London), senior associates Can Altan and Alan Markgraf, as well as associates Anastasiya-Evangelina Wiegand and Ann-Kathrin Ludwig (all Frankfurt, all Banking & Finance).

The team also included partners Dr. Alexander Behrens (Regulatory), Dr. Heike Weber (Tax), Dr. Jochen Scheel (Real Estate), Dr. Udo Olgemöller (Public Law), Wolfgang Melzer (Banking & Finance, all Frankfurt), and Dr. Astrid Krüger (Corporate/M&A, Munich), as well as senior associates Dr. Thomas Hohe (Employment), Dr. Stephan Bühner (Public Law, both Frankfurt) and Christin Schlorf (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg). The team also included the associates Nils Najmann (Public Law), Sascha Franke (Real Estate), Jan Henrich (Employment), Dr. Georg Dalitz (all Frankfurt), Tiago Rittner (both Corporate/M&A) and Dr. Paul Gerlach (Real Estate, both Munich).

Furtermore, teams from the firm’s London and Paris offices were also involved, as well as partner law firms Hannes Snellmann (Sweden) and Wiersholm (Norway).

Inhouse legal advice was proivided by Philipp Meyer-Lindemann (Head of Legal) and Ferdinand Wieland (Legal Counsel).